ES what?

ES6 is just a fancy way to say the new version of JavaScript. Before ES6 was finally released in 2015, there hadn’t been a new version of JS since 2009, so it’s kind of a big deal.

But why does this matter for WordPress?

WordPress is increasingly using more and more JS, whether in the admin, themes, or plugins.

The founder of WordPress pointed out this evolution and encouraged us to “Learn JavaScript Deeply”.

And the current priorities for WordPress development — customization, the editing experience, and the REST API — all require JS.

So, if you want to develop for WordPress, learning JS in addition to PHP is a necessity.

Ok, so I get why I need to know JavaScript now, but what’s so special about this ES6?

Good question. Since it’s the new version of JavaScript and has some helpful features to help write better code, you need to start learning it. In our meetup, Micah’s going to help us get started.

Now, browsers are still implementing this new version of JS so all of the features aren’t available yet in all browsers. Micah’s going to show us how to use a transpiler (a what?) to allow us to use the new features but still have our code work in all browsers.

So come on out, Thursday, May 18, 7:45-8:45pm.

P.S. If you want to get a headstart or just want to know a little bit more before the meetup so you can ask better questions, we created a quick resource list for learning more about the JS world and how it fits into WordPress.